Princesses

Mar 19, 2010 13:52

I don't know why I read this website. Sometimes I nod because it's a new perspective/fact I hadn't considered/didn't know, but I mostly roll my eyes to prevent the inevitable bleeding of annoyed-ness ( Read more... )

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lilian413 March 19 2010, 16:14:33 UTC
I agree with you 100%. I can't quite put it into words either, but I can share one of my own experiences with you: growing up, I never had a Barbie doll. Or the Latin American equivalent, either. I just wasn't interested in them. I grew up playing with action figures (the kinds boys play with), and while yes, I preferred the female characters (She-ra, Teela, Cheetara), I had no issue playing with the male ones either. And it never crossed my mind that girls could not be heroes, could not save the day (or themselves, for that matter) and could not anything they damn well set their minds to, because I was not bombarded by tales of female swooning and victimization, of 'oh when, oh when will my prince come and save me?' and the like ( ... )

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galaxylily March 19 2010, 21:39:50 UTC
Maybe it's just me, but when I was a kid the Disney Princesses were a little more dynamic than they are now. Well, let me fix that. Jasmine and Ariel were a little more dynamic if only because they had their own series to do fun (mis)adventures.

That being said, I feel like Disney has recently started to take a swing towards sissifying their characters; making their princesses in particular less capable and taking their power from them. In general I'm starting more and more to dislike Disney and what they do.

I think girls need stronger, more capable role models. You can only get so far with Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake and My little ponies. :/ (I should know being raised from the sisifyed perspective. No wonder I work in a bakery...)

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dark_branwen March 20 2010, 00:20:38 UTC
I don't get a lot of them either. I think the Sleeping Beauty one is supposed to be that she never woke up and the Prince has basically carted her along this entire time, and since Red does have food at the center of its plot, I can see the leap to basically inditing the fast food industry. Princess and the Pea in a landfill? Belle under the knife? Pocahontas the recluse? No earthly idea.

I also don't get Cinderella in a dive bar btw.

I agree that they aren't very well done. I think a lot of them aren't even very good pictures to be honest. The only ones I really like are Ariel and Jasmine.

Well, I played with Barbie dolls and loved the Disney princesses (Aurora was and still is my favorite), but I still became an obnoxious feminist at 13 and now hope I'm a less obnoxious feminist. But I agree that in a lot of cases, that's not what happens and that is a shame.

Oh, and Kei$ha is totally gross, but damn it if Tik Tok isn't catchy. Don't worry, I'm ashamed.

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ellorgast March 22 2010, 02:11:31 UTC
Normally I really like the dark twists on fairy tales and happily ever after and anti-Disney and all that, but I think a lot of those are in poor taste. :/ On one hand, Rapunzel losing her hair is a witty twist, on the other, cancer is never funny. Ever. Jasmine... I guess Aladdin was a stereotype of the Middle East to begin with, so it's just replacing one stereotype with another, but still. Really? And Beauty under the knife? Ugh.

I think I really liked the Beauty one and found it sweet and sad, how poor Prince Philip grew old beside his eternally beautiful but unconscious love. Except, you know, the original movie kind of already explored that idea a bit.

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